A barge carrying 140,000 barrels of crude oil caught fire and exploded this morning in the Gulf of Mexico off Corpus Christi, News Radio 1200 WOAI reports.
Coast Guard Lt. Jennae Steinmiller says eight crew members were on board. Six were rescued and suffered no injuries.
Rick Adams, who heads the Port Aransas Office of Emergency Management, says one one the two who were reported missing was killed. The other remains missing.
The fire happened at 4:30 AM, according to Coast Guard Petty Officer Edward Wargo. He says the barge was anchored about two miles off the Port Aransas Jetty.
"The Coast Guard has set up a safety zone around the incident, and the fire is still burning," Wargo said. He said the safety zone is to keep other ship traffic at a distance.
He says there is no indication now what sparked the fire.
"There are no reports of any pollution, either water or air pollution, from the fire," Steinmiller said.
Adams said the Texas Department of Environmental Quality is on the scene, and has measured no noticeable air pollution.
The Coast Guard said the ship was anchored in the Aransas Pass Anchorage, on its way to one of the many refineries which dot the Corpus Christi area.
The barge explosion is the latest headache for officials in Port Aransas. Much of the beach community was destroyed when the area took a direct hit from Hurricane Harvey in August.